Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-02-23

married to Miss Hunter, that Col. Rion was
the offspring of that marriage. DeRion
died in Col. Rion's infancy, and he, with
his mother, were placed under the charge
of Mr.. Calhoun by the Austrian am
bassador at Washington with a statement
of the facts in the case and upon certain
conditions that were to be faithfully ob-
served. One of the conditions was that the
facts should not be divulped except in GER
tain contingencies, anot..sr of the condl-
tions that Col. Rion was never to 60 to
Europe unless in charge of the Austrian
authorities, and on board an Austrian man
of war. A further condition was that Col.
| Rion was never to accept civil Office in this
country.
"These conditions were faithfully observ-
ed up to the time of Col. Rion's last fatal
illness. He is not known to have confided
the story of his birth to any one except his
eldest daughter. He is said to have told
! her the story two or three years ago, when
she was about to sail for Europe. 1t is said
that one of her purposes in going to Europe
was to examine into the death of the Dau-
phin and to obtain such knowledge in re-
gard to it as was possible from traditions and
otherwise.
"It is also said that when Col. Rion reg
ferred to the subject just before his death, he
observed in the countenance Of those who
were gathered about him that they suppos-
ed his mind to be wandering, and that he
said to them: "You think that my mind
is wandering, but am in possession of all
my reasoning faculties" He then asked DIR.
Hannahan to put him to some test in Or
der to demonstrate the fact that he was
perfectly rational. He said (tapping his
breast) Il have the proofs here of what
say, w., d., ,o,,,, ., ho 80 hoon n nos
session of very valuable gold snuff box,
set with diamonds upon the top of which
there is a monogram of the Orleans family
wrought in diamonds. This snuff-box, it
is said, had never been seen by any mem
ber of his family until his death, but he is
known to have exhibited it once, in 1883,
to an intimate personal and professional
friend, under iniunctions of secrecy, which
have been removed by his death. He gave
no intimation to his friend of the history
connected with the possession of this box,
except to say that Mr.. Clemson, the son in
law of John G.. Calhoun, brought it to him
from France, when he (Mr. Clemsen) was
secretary of the American legation in Par
is. The snuff.box has been valued by a
jeweler, since Col. Rion's death, at $4,000,
and is of most costly and exquisite work
manship.
"Col. Ron went to Canada some years
dSO dlu lOlu d lFlcuu Wllcu HC udu iCIuh IL
ed that he had seen in the old Cathedral at
Montreal the record of his baptism.
"It is understood that Col. Rion's family
is now preparing for publication full
statement Of the facts in the case, and that
there is much evidence to sustain the con-
fession made by him just before his death:
Certainly no one who knew him would
doubt for moment the truth of any state
ment that he made when clothed in his
right mind, for he was the very soul OF
honor"
Such is the mystery which was shrouded
up in Col. Rion, and the public will eagerly y
await the publication of the full facts
connected with an affair which will read
like a romance. There have been many
pretenders, each of whom has claimed that
he was the Dauphin, but their stories have
been discredited, and in France it is believ'
ed to this day that the Dauphin died in the
Temple, where he was placed under the
care of Simon, the Jacobin, after the exc
cution of his father, Louis XVI.